Results 121-140 of 20,908 for speaker:Norma Foley

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as an am agus an deis a thabhairt dom labhairt ar bhuiséad 2026.. I welcome the opportunity to address the House this evening on the key elements of the budget 2026 allocation for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. This is the first of five budgets where we begin the journey to achieve a number of key objectives. The...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Pay is one of a number of issues impacting the early learning and care and school-age childcare workforce. The level of pay for early years educators and school-age childcare practitioners does not reflect the value of their work for children, families, society and the economy. As the State is not the employer of staff in the sector, neither I nor the Department can set wage levels or...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Paternity Leave (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Significant improvements have been made in the entitlements to both paid and unpaid leaves in recent years, including by extending paid parent's leave for parents to allow them to spend more time with their baby during their earliest years. The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides the relevant parent (other than the mother of the child) with 2 weeks paid paternity leave. Under...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: After-School Support Services (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Improving access to quality and affordable Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare is a key priority of Government. The early learning and childcare sector has expanded significantly in recent years; enrolments increased by 19% between 2022 and 2024 and registrations of new services have increased. This is particularly the case with school age childcare services with 261 new...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: After-School Support Services (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare in the form of a subsidy paid directly to the childcare provider. Subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age. The minimum rate available to all families in Ireland is €2.14 per hour, which is available for up to 45 weekly...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Rights of the Child (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 301 together. The Government is firmly committed to ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ireland signed the Second Optional Protocol in 2000, and the Government is committed to taking the further step of ratifying it as soon as possible. In Irish treaty practice, the State must be in a position...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (8 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: The 2001 Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Early Learning and Childcare Settings were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The Guidelines are intended to ensure a consistent approach to the treatment of planning applications in respect to the land use planning aspects of early learning and childcare provision. The Programme for Government...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 499 and 500 together. The National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides financial support to help parents reduce the cost of early learning and childcare. Subsidies are available for children aged between 24 weeks and 15 years of age. The minimum rate available to all families in Ireland is €2.14 per hour, which is available for up to 45 weekly hours....

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Data on Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare service providers is captured through administrative data on the Early Years Platform (EYP). The below table provides a summary of the number of service providers by size based on the number of children registered in the service for any Department funded programme (ECCE, NCS and CCSP)*. The data are captured at 1 June for each of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: In March 2022 Government accepted the findings of the independent Review of the Early Learning and Childcare Operating Model in Ireland that a dedicated state agency is the optimal operating model for the early learning and childcare sector for the years ahead. It is envisaged that this agency will undertake the functions currently carried out by Pobal Early Years (including Better Start),...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Core Funding began in September 2022 and therefore figures are only available for the past three years. In the interest of clarity, transparency and consistent reporting, I have defined a service that left Core Funding as any service that had a gap between contracts for Core Funding of 4 or more weeks. There are a number of reasons that a service might fall into this definition, for...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Early Childhood Care and Education (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: In line with the requirements of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations, 2016, the Child Care Act, 1991 (Early Year Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations 2018 and the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Services) Regulations 2024, those wishing to operate an early years service (whether a preschool, school age or childminding...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: In line with the requirements of the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) Regulations, 2016, the Child Care Act, 1991 (Early Year Services) (Registration of School Age Services) Regulations, 2018 and the Child Care Act 1991 (Early Years Services) (Childminding Services) Regulations 2024, those wishing to operate an early years services (whether a preschool, school age or childminding...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: Promoting affordability in early learning and care and school-age childcare is a key priority of the Department. In January, the Programme for Government committed to reducing the cost of childcare to €200 per month within the lifetime of the Government. A number of existing Schemes will play a role in realising this goal, including Core Funding. Core Funding, which is now in its...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government commits for the first time to provision of early learning and childcare through State-led facilities adding capacity in areas where unmet need exists. State ownership of facilities is a very substantial and significant development and offers the potential to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignment with estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Childcare Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: When first introduced in 2022, Core Funding had an annual allocation of €259 million. That annual allocation has increased each year since and will exceed €390 million for year 4 of the Scheme, starting in September. This represents an increase of over 50% in Core Funding in three years. The Department has also made changes to improve the sustainability of providers through,...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: The following bodies are under the aegis of the Department:Tusla, the Child and Family AgencyAdoption Authority of Ireland (AAI)National Disability Authority (NDA)Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO)Oberstown Children Detention CampusOffice of the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam (ODAIT)Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC)I can advise that I have referred this...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Rights of the Child (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: The Programme for Government contains commitments with regard to kinship carers. Accordingly, the Department is in the process of developing a national policy on the rights of children living in informal kinship care. As part of the development of the national policy the Department:is in the process of completing the scoping exercise on informal kinship care in Ireland. This exercise will...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Disability Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: I propose to take Questions Nos. 514 and 515 together. I thank the Deputy for these questions and for highlighting the importance of accessible information for disabled people, including blind and visually impaired people. Given the importance of accessibility for ensuring that disabled people can fully participate and thrive in their communities, Government is fully committed to...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Disability and Equality: Care Services (7 Oct 2025)

Norma Foley: As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.